Marine drilling rig



y 1949- H. J. WOOLSLAYER, ETAL 2,475,933

Filed Oct. 31, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 MARINE DRILLING RIG v 1' v N ORS. y ussszs N I I W 0.4)

ATTORNEYS.

July 12, 194 9. J w s E 2,475,933

MARINE DRILLING RIG Filed Oct. 31, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 wnmzssss; I

netted Joly 1 2, 11 949 a MARINE DRILLmG RIG Erwin A. Campbell, and

v Homer J. Woolslayer,

Cecil Jenkins, Tulsa,

Okla", assignors, by-mesn'e assignments, to Lee C. Moore Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa., acorporation of Pennsylvania Application october 31, 1945, Serial No. 625,750

4Clatims. (01. 114-05) This invention-relates to oil well drilling apparatus, and more particularly to apparatus for drilling wells under bodies of water.

In some localities oil is found'under bodies of water, such as bays, lakes or oceans. One way of drilling for this oil is to construct an oil well derrick in the usual manner on piling driven into the bed of the body of water at the desired location. Drilling has also been accomplished by means of ordinary derricks mounted on barges of special design that are floated out to the well site and then sunk onto piles or onto bottom, depending upon the depth of the water. Among the difiiculties attendant upon this procedure is the danger of the bargecapsizing while carrying'a tall derrick, especially when the water is rough or when strong winds are blowing. To uard against this the barge must be very wide, thereby increasing the cost of the equipment.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for drilling oil wells under water which are safer, more economical, and more easily handled than heretofore.

In accordance with this invention a substructure for a well drilling derrick or mast is mounted on a barge. Extending from the top of the substructure toward the rear end of the bargeis a mast which, when not in use, is in a reclining position. In that position the mast legs are located at its top and bottom, and the mast extends only a short distance above the barge.

There are means on the back portion of the substructure to which the lower legs of the mast are I hinged, and means at-the rear end of the barge for supporting the reclining mast substantially horizontal above the barge. A hoist drum, driven by an engine, is mounted on the substructurefor swinging the mast forward relative to the barge and upward to upright position. When the mast reaches upright position the lower ends of its upper legs, which then are upright, are detachably connected to the substructure to hold the mast upright. The mast is raised by a line passing from the drum up over a gin pole mounted on the substructure in front of the mast. With this structure the barge' can be floated to the desired location with the mast lowered.

In one form of the invention the substructure is skidded off the barge onto piles driven around the well. The mast can be raised either before or after the skidding operation. In another form of the invention the mast is mounted permanent ly on the barge, so the front end of the barge and the masts substructure are provided with a long slot to permit the barge to be backed away from v to provide hinged sections I! that extend toward a suitable support,

up into upright position above the well. In this 'end to opposite sides of the well casing extending up through it. When the barge is in the correct location it is sunk onto and then the mast is swung embodiment the engine for thedraw-works preferably is mounted on the barge beneaththe reclining mast.

The invention is illustrated in the accompany-.

ing drawings in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of our mast lying on a barge; Fig. 2 is a side view thereof but also indicating in broken lines the upright operative position of the mast; Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 of another embodiment of the invention; and Fig. 4 is a side view of the second embodiment and indicating in broken lines the ufiright operative position of the mast resting on p mg.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, a barge I is provided at its front end with a rearwardly extending central slot 2 through which an oil well, indicated at 3 in Fig. 1, can be drilled into the ground underlying the body of water on which the barge floats. Rigidly mounted on the front end of the barge is an oil well derrick substructure 4 formed in any conventional manner, such as from structural steel elements. This substructure likewise is bifurcated so that it too can straddle the well. It extends'for some distance behind the slot in the barge to form a support for the usual draw-works which has a housing 6 in which a cable drum 1 is rotatably mounted. This drum is driven by belts and pulley from one or more engines 8 behind the substructure.

The derrick or mast H is shown in lowered or inoperative position in which it extends from the top of the substructure rearwardly along the barge above the engines '8. The lower legs I 2 of the reclining mast are pivoted or hinged at one the draw-works housing, while the opposite end of the mast is supported above the barge by a' supporting member I 3 barge.- The disjects beyond the back of the barge depends on the length of the barge and the length or height of the mast. The upper legs Id of the reclining mast are jointed at points It above the engines the draw-works. Diagonal braces l8 connect the pivoted ends of the lower legs to the upper legs at their joints I6. The upper side of the mast is open for at least most of its length.

Extending above substructure 4 is an upwardly tapered gin pole that has front and rear legs mounted on the barge ,viously explained. As soon as mast substantially horizontal.

connected at their upper end by a cross member 2|. cured to brackets 23 mounted on the front ends of the forks of the substructure, while the lower ends of the rear legs 24 of the gin pole are connected to the draw-works housing adjacent the lower legs of the mast. A cable line 26 is wound on the draw-works drum and passes upwardly over a sheave 21 at the top of the gin pole. From there the line extends rearwardly to the crown block 28 of the mast and then forward into the mast to the traveling block 29. In order to raise the mast, the travelin bloc temporarily is hooked onto a sling 3! the ends of which are secured to the opposite ends of the gin poles cross member 2|. when the drawworlns drum is rotated to reel in line 26, the pull of the traveling block on the sling swings the mast upwardly and forwardly into upright position. The hinged sections I! of upper legs [4, which now are upright, then are swung forward and their lower ends detachably connected in any suitable manner to brackets 23 on the substructure in order to hold the mast upright,

as indicated in broken lines in Fig. 2. This procedure is reversed when it is desired to lower the mast. In using this equipment the barge is towed out to the well site with the mast lowered in the reclining position shown in the drawings.

With the mast lowered, high winds and rough water are not serious obstacles to floating the barge to the desired location. When the barge reaches the well site water is admitted to the barge to cause it to sink onto piles that previously have been driven, or, if the water is shallow enough, the barge is sunk onto bottom. The engines 8 then are operated to cause the draw-works to reel in line 26 so that the mast will be swung up into upright position as prethe lower ends of the upright upper legs have been attached to substructure brackets 23, the mast is ready for use and a well 3 can be drilled down through the inner end of the slot 2 in the substructure and barge. During drilling, this slot can be floored over. After the well has been drilled, the mast can be lowered to its original reclining position and then the barge pumped out so that it will float again. The barge is then ready to be backed away from the well, which is permitted because the bifurcated end of the barge straddles the well head. It will be seen that the hazards heretofore attendant upon floating an upright mast over a body of water are avoided with this apparatus because, during travel to and from the well, themast lies down upon the barge where it is quite seaworthy. In its lowered position the mast extends away from the bifurcated end of the barge and over the drawworks and power unit, thereby conserving space upon the barge. Also, the barge can be relatively narrow because the structure is not so top heavy as to require a wide barge to balance it.

In the modification shown in Figs. 3 and '4 a rectangular substructure 35 for a mast 36 is slidably mounted on the front end of a barge 31. The lower legs 38 of the reclining mast are hinged to brackets '39 mounted on the rear portion of the substructure, and a supportin member 4| at the rear end of the barge holds the e upper legs 42 of the reclining mast are shorter than the lower ones and are connected to them by diagonal bracing members 43. A tapered erection gin pole on the substructure has from; and rear legs connected at their upper ends by a cross The lower ends of the front legs 22 are se--' member 44. The lower ends of the rear legs 46 are connected to brackets 39, and the lower ends of the front legs 41 of the gin pole are connected to a pair of brackets 48 also mounted on the substructure near its opposite sides. The traveling block 49 in the mast is connected by a line 5| to the crown block 52 from which the line extends forward to a sheave 53 at the top of the gin pole and then down to a draw-works drum 54 which is mounted in a housing 56 on the substructure between the front legs of the gin pole. The draw-works is operated by engines 51 of a power unit mounted on the substructure in front of the draw-works. In order to permit the mast to be raised, the travelin block is hooked onto a sling 58 which has its ends secured to the opposite ends of the gin pole cross member 44. The two sides of the slin pass under sheaves 59 mounted in the mast.

In using this rig the barge is towed out to the drilling site and anchored beside an island formed from clusters of piles 6! that previously have been driven for receiving the mast. The level of the pile caps should be slightly below the deck level of the barge, with due allowance for tidal and other variations in water level. By taking on water ballast, the deck level of the barge is dropped to correspond with the level of the pile caps, and then the entire rig is skidded off the barge and onto the piles. After the substructure has been secured to the pilin foundation the mast is raised by causing drum 54 to reel in line 5| which pulls the sling further into the mast. When the mast is in upright position its diagonal bracing members 43 rest against the rear legs of the gin pole to which the mast is detachably connected to hold it upright, as indicated by broken lines in Fig. 4. After the well has been drilled the mast can be lowered and the substructure then skidded back onto the barge and floated to another location. In some cases it may be desirable to raise the mast before the substructure is skidded onto the piles.

This apparatus materially reduces the hazardous and expensive operation of erecting a conventional oil well derrick at a marine location, and it is much more seaworthy than a conventional derrick erected permanently on a barge.

According to the provisions of the patent stat utes, we have explained the principle and construction of our invention and have illustrated and described what we now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, we desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

We claim: e

1. Marine oil well drilling equipment comprising a barge having a bifurcated front end to permit it to straddle an underwater well, a bifurcated substructure rigidly mounted on the front end of the barge and also adapted to straddle said well, a reclining mast extending from the top of the substructure toward the rear end of the barge, means at the rear end of the barge for supporting-the reclining mast above the barge, an engine mounted on the barge under the reclining mast with the bottom of the engine located a considerable distance 'below the level of the top of the substructure, said reclining mast having upper and lower legs,.supportingmembers I substructure driven by said engine for swinging the mast upward and forward to upright position, and means for detachably connecting the lower ends of the upright upper legs to the sub structure to hold the mast upright.

2. Marine oil well drilling equipment comprising a barge having a bifurcated front end to permit it to straddle an underwater well, a bifurcated substructure rigidly mounted on the front end of the barge and also adapted to straddle said well, a reclining mast extending from the top of the substructure toward the rear end of the barge, means at the rear end of the barge for supporting the reclining mast above the barge, an engine mounted on the barge under the reclining mast with the bottom of the engine located a considerable distance below the level of the top of the substructure, said reclining mast having upper and lower legs, upright members on the back portion of-the substructure to which said lower legs are hinged, a tapered gin pole mounted on the substructure in front of the mast and having rear legs supported by said upright members, a hoist drum on the substructure driven by said engine, a line passing from the drum up over the gin pole and rearwardly to the mast for swinging it upward and forward to upright position with the gin pole extending up into the lower portion of the mast, and means for detachably connecting the lower ends of the upright upper legs to the substructure to hold the mast upright.

3. Marine oil well drilling equipment comprising a barge having a bifurcated front end to permit it to straddle an underwater well, a bifurcated substructure rigidly mounted on the front end of the barge and also adapted to straddle said well, a reclining mast extending from the top of the substructure toward the rear end of the barge, means at the rear endof the barge for supporting the reclining mast above the barge, an engine mounted on the barge under the reclining mast with the bottom of the engine located a considerable distance below the level of the top of the substructure, said reclining mast having upper and lower legs, draw-works mounted on the back portion of the substructure and driven by said engine, said lower legs straddling the draw-works means pivotally connecting said lower legs to the opposite sides of said draw-works, a line connectupward and forward to upright position, and

means detachably connecting the lower ends of v the upright upper legs to the substructure, to hold the mast upright.

4. Marine oil well drilling equipment comprising a barge having a bifurcated front end to permit it to straddle an underwater well, a bifurcated substructure rigidly mounted on the front end of the barge and also adapted to straddle said well, a reclining mast extending from the top of the substructure toward the rear end of the barge, means at the rear end of the barge for supporting the reclining mast above the barge, an engine mounted on the barge under the reclining mast with the bottom of the engine located a considerable distance below the level of the top of the substructure, said reclining mast having upper and lower legs, draw-works mounted on the back portion of the substructure and driven by said engine, said lower legs straddling the draw-works and being pivotally connected to its opposite sides, a tapered gin pole mounted on the substructure in front of the mast and having rear legs supported by said opposite sides of the draw-works, a line for connecting the draw-works to the mast to swing it upward and forward to upright posi tion with the gin pole-extending up into the lower portion of the mast, and means for detachably connecting the lowerends of the upper legs when upright to the substructure to hold the mast upright.

HOMER J. WOOLSLAYER.

ERWIN A. CAMPBELL.

CECIL JENKINS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Harris Aug. 7, 1945 

